Tobiah

The ancestor of a family of people who returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem after the exile in Babylon. This family was not able to prove their Jewish heritage (Ezra 2:60; Nehemiah 7:62).

An Ammonite who opposed Nehemiah when he arrived in Jerusalem about 445 BC. Tobiah is called “the Ammonite official” in Nehemiah 2:10, 19, a term describing an important person with power, like a governor. He, Sanballat, and Geshem were the main opponents of the wall's reconstruction. They were high-ranking Persian Empire officers. He was connected by marriage with the Jews in two ways. He married Shecaniah's daughter, the son of Arah. His son Jehohanan married Meshullam's daughter, the son of Berekiah (Nehemiah 6:18). His marriage to a prominent Jerusalem family gave him strong ties with the city's aristocracy (Nehemiah 6:17).

Nehemiah had to face the threat posed by Tobiah and his influential allies. Nehemiah was accused of leading the people of Jerusalem in a revolt against King Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:19). As the wall was rebuilt, Tobiah planned to besiege Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:8). Nehemiah ordered the Jews to defend themselves. They continued to repair the wall, protected by armed guards. As the enemy forces drew closer, every worker held a weapon, along with his trowel (Nehemiah 4:17–19). They believed that “Our God will fight for us” and were encouraged (Nehemiah 4:20). Tobiah also joined in the plot to assassinate Nehemiah after the walls were rebuilt (Nehemiah 6:2–4). Nehemiah was accused of false reports of rebellion. A Jerusalemite, hired by the allies, tried to tempt him into entering the temple. This would discredit his standing among the faithful (Nehemiah 6:5–13).

After Nehemiah left Jerusalem to meet Artaxerxes, Tobiah regained his followers. The priest Eliashib, related to Tobiah, then converted a temple offering room for him (Nehemiah 13:4–5). Tobiah used these quarters when visiting Jerusalem. One of Nehemiah’s first actions, upon his return, was to evict Tobiah from the temple (Nehemiah 13:8–9) and then restore the room for its proper use.